Dilemmas
by Junebugsm
Summary: Explaining sex to their eight year old foster daughter wasn't on the agenda for Stef and Lena. But after being caught what choice did they have?


**Explaining sex to their eight year old foster daughter wasn't on the agenda for Stef and Lena. But after being caught what choice did they have?**

(A request by CatieBell where one of the kids walks in on the moms.)

* * *

"Oh God, that feels good." Lena said euphorically as she let her body succumb to the pleasure her wife was giving her.

It was late on a Friday night and Stef and Lena were supposed to have had a date night but their kids sleepover had been cancelled due to the flu, leaving both women groaning at the thought that the kids would stay home. The whole evening had been planned - they were going first for an early dinner and then have some drinks and finally come back home for the highlight of the evening. It was just past ten-thirty and all three kids were in bed and Stef and Lena decided that at least part of their evening could still go as planned.

Stef grinned as she continued to use her fingers on the most sensitive part of her wife's body.

"At least the whole night didn't have to be a waste." Stef whispered, watching Lena begin to lose control.

"The rest doesn't even matter." Lena said hurriedly, too lost to form sentences at a normal pace.

Stef laughed as she shifted her body slightly, her fingers going deeper into her wife, so that she could kiss Lena as she went over the edge. Lena immediately began stroking Stef's breasts as the two kissed and Lena was pretty sure she was just a second away from going over the edge when suddenly the room was flooded with light from the hall.

* * *

Time seemed to have stopped for what seemed like an eternity as both women froze, still in their compromising position and unfortunately, over the covers.

"What are you doing?" Their foster daughter asked, staring at them with a weird look and an eyebrow raised.

The sound of Mariana's voice snapped them both out of their shock. Stef closed her eyes and let out a breath regretfully, hoping that when she opened them again this wouldn't really be happening. And Lena immediately reached for the other end of the blanket to cover them both up.

"Can you give us a minute honey. We'll be right out." Lena said.

The moment the child was gone both women turned to each other.

"Oh god." Stef mumbled as she buried her face in her wife's soft but massive hair. "Tell me this isn't happening."

"No such luck honey." Lena said, patting Stef's arm and gently pushing her away so that they could get up.

They walked into the bathroom to wash up and then got into their pajamas before heading, hand in hand, to Mariana's room to talk about what the girl saw and also what she'd originally come into their room for in the first place.

* * *

"Hey sweetheart." Lena said as they entered the room to find the girl sitting on her bed fidgeting with her beloved blanket.

"Did you need something love?" Stef added, hoping to first find out why the girl had come into their room in the first place.

Mariana shook her head slightly as she stared up at them with wide eyes.

"It's okay baby." Lena said gently as she took a seat beside the girl. "What did you come for?"

"What were you doing?" The young girl asked softly. Her gut told her that it was something private and she shouldn't have seen it but her curiosity got the better of her.

Stef sighed as she sat down on the other side of Mariana. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation to have, especially at this time of the night.

"Well, we were having sex." Lena answered honestly.

Mariana's nose crinkled slightly at the word. She had heard it before and she knew it was something that older kids and grown ups did but she hadn't expected _that_.

"It's not a bad thing baby." Lena continued. "When two people love each other like Stef and I do then it's really special."

"What do you do exactly? Why didn't you have any clothes on?" Mariana asked. She was getting more and more curious now. The sex she imagined had been the kind she saw the big kids do at school - kissing with tongue.

Stef and Lena shared a glance. They were going to have to be honest with the girl because her curiosity wasn't just going to disappear and if they didn't give her the answers she was looking for then she'd try to find them somewhere else. If this conversation was going to happen it was better that the girl got the information directly from them - that way she was sure to get the truth.

"Well, when two consenting adults have feelings for each other they begin to share everything, including their bodies." Lena answered and smiled when the girl looked confused. "I basically means that both people have to want it." She explained in a way that an eight year old could understand.

"It's like if you have a new doll and Lexi has a new game share them so you can both play with the doll and both play with the game." Stef explained in an easier way. "You both want to so you share it. If either one of you doesn't want to share then you don't have to."

"But how do you share your body?" Mariana asked.

"Remember how we talked about parts of our body being private and only for us?" Lena continued.

"Yeah." Mariana said. "That's why we all shower separately and change in private."

"Exactly." Lena said. "But when two people are a couple like Stef and I we don't have to keep our bodies private any more. We can see each other without clothes on."

"And touch." Mariana said, thinking back to what she saw Stef doing to Lena.

"Yes." Lena said. "And touch."

"When you grow up you share those parts with someone you love then it gives you a really good feeling." Stef explained. "They like it when you touch them and you like it when they touch you."

"I though no one was ever supposed to touch you down there." Mariana said.

"We did tell you that didn't we?" Stef said, more to herself than to the child. "It's a little different." She said, actually talking to Mariana this time. "No one should ever touch a child like that and if anyone ever has or ever does you have to come to us and tell us right away."

"And never be afraid to tell us." Lena added. "No matter what anyone tells you, you will never be in trouble and no one will ever be angry with you for coming and telling us."

"For children it's bad." Stef went on. "No one should ever touch children in those places and with grown ups, both people have to want it and you always do it privately. Those are the rules."

Mariana thought about it for a moment before she wanted to know more. "Do you do it all the time?" She asked.

"Not as much as we'd like." Stef mumbled, receiving a whack from her wife.

"Not all the time." Lena answered.

"Only when you love each other?" Mariana asked.

"We always love each other." Stef said. "But there are other things that you can do when you love someone. You spend time together with the people you love. Like sometimes Lena and I cuddle on the couch and watch a movie or we go out for dinner. Sometimes we just sit and talk. Sex isn't the only way to show someone you love them."

"But it makes you feel good." Mariana confirmed.

"Yes." Lena said. "Parts of your body like the vagina and breasts in a girl and the penis on a boy are sexual places and when they are touched they make you feel aroused. That means they make you feel good."

"So then why don't you do it all the time?" Mariana questioned.

"You like ice-cream, don't you?" Stef questioned the child and smiled when she received an enthusiastic nod. "Okay, but do you eat it all the time?"

"No" Mariana answered before glancing at the other woman. "Lena won't let us." She said softly, but with a hint of mischief in her voice making both women chuckle.

"That's true." Stef agreed. "But really, would you want to eat ice-cream _all_ the time?" She asked.

"I guess not." Mariana said.

"Exactly." Stef said. "Sometimes you want ice-cream but sometimes you want pizza and sometimes you want cake. But that doesn't mean that you stop liking ice-cream just because you eat something else does it?"

"No" Mariana answered.

"That's how it is with sex." Stef finished. "Just because it makes us feel good and we like it doesn't mean we have to have it all the time. Sometimes we just like to sit and talk or cuddle."

Mariana nodded in understanding.

"And sometimes we like to sit and snuggle with our little bugs instead of just being alone all the time." Stef added playfully as she reached over and tickled Mariana, causing the girl to squirm and giggle.

"How come kids don't feel it?" Mariana asked, once she's regained her breath.

"Because they aren't ready yet." Lena explained. "When a child is around twelve years old he or she goes though something called puberty. It's when you stop being a little kid and become a young woman or man. Before that you don't feel that kind of pleasure so it's not right to do it to children."

"So when I'm twelve I'll feel it?" Mariana asked.

"Not quite." Lena corrected. "Puberty starts around that age but it takes a few years to finish and the longer you wait the better it feels."

"Oh." Mariana said, slightly disappointed. "What exactly do you do while having sex?" She asked curiously.

"Well, we kiss and we touch each other and we tell each other how much we love them." Stef said, trying to avoid going into greater detail.

"How do you touch each other?" Mariana questioned, wanting something more than just that. "What were you doing?"

Stef sighed and looked over at Lena who had a small smirk on her face but didn't answer, enjoying watching Stef try to battle this one.

"Like Lena told you, there are parts of our body that are special only for us and and one special other person." Stef tried to explain. "When these parts are touched it makes us feel good. The vagina is one of those parts and that's what I was doing to Lena."

"I thought it was just to pee." Mariana stated matter-of-factly.

Stef smiled, thinking how innocent children were. "It does that too." She said with a smile.

Mariana was thinking everything over and the two women to basically see the questions forming in her mind.

"If it's a good thing then how come you can't let anyone else see?" She asked.

"Because it's private." Stef answered. "It's so special between just you two that you don't share it with anyone else."

"Oh." Mariana said, accepting that answer easily. "Like how Lexi and I share secrets that are only for us." She stated, feeling important for having a special connection with someone just like her foster moms.

"That's exactly it." Stef and Lena laughed as they pulled the little girl in for a hug. As awkward as that conversation was at least Mariana hadn't been afraid to question them about it and that was definitely something they could be grateful for. But there was still another matter that needed to be discussed.

* * *

"So now do you want to tell us what you needed?" Lena asked gently.

Mariana's smile instantly left her face and was replaced by something neither Stef nor Lena could quite read. It seemed to be frustration mixed with just a bit of nervousness and determination.

"Bad dream." Mariana whispered, somewhat dejectedly.

Stef almost let out a sarcastic laugh - she came to them because she had a bad dream and it ended up turning into a nightmare - poor kid.

"About what?" Stef asked instead as she stroked her back gently.

"I had nothing to wear to Lexi's party." Mariana said dramatically, like it was a life or death dilemma. "And so I had to wear jeans."

Both women smiled. Mariana had been planning her outfit for her best friend's parent's anniversary party for almost two weeks now and every time she looked at what she'd settled on, she changed her mind saying it was just not right.

"Sweetheart, your purple dress is beautiful." Lena said, knowing that it was Mariana's favorite. Dana and Stewart had brought three from Europe for her a couple of months earlier and she still hadn't had a chance to wear them.

"But the shoes look nicer with the yellow dress." Mariana said.

"They are white shoes honey." Stef laughed slightly.

"But the flower on the toe as a yellow center." Mariana stated back in an obvious tone.

"Baby I'm sure the shoes will look wonderful with the purple dress too." Lena assured.

"And the bag would look nice with the green dress." Mariana continued, apparently not having heard Lena at all. "They both have a bit of silver in them.

"I think the problem is you have too much to wear, not nothing." Stef said, glancing towards the closet as though she could see through the door to the endless clothing and accessories the girl had accumulated in the year she'd lived with them.

"Baby which dress do you _want_ to wear?" Lena asked, giving Mariana's had a little squeeze.

Mariana thought for a moment and finally answered. "The purple one." She said, even though both moms already knew that answer.

"Then wear it honey." Lena said. "They are all pretty and you'll look beautiful in any of them."

"Can we please go buy matching shoes and a bag?" Mariana asked hopefully.

"No." Stef said instantly. "You don't need anything more Mariana."

Mariana's face fell slightly and Stef felt a little bad but they really couldn't keep buying the girl whatever she wanted - god knows the grandparents did enough of that.

"The shoes and the bag would go well with all three dresses honey." Lena said, agreeing with Stef at the child didn't need any more clothes or accessories.

"Okay." Mariana finally accepted. "I'll wear the purple one."

"Good choice, now back to bed." Stef said as they tucked Mariana back into bed gave her a kiss on her head.

Stef and Lena headed back to their room, relieved that the awkward conversation was sorted but knowing that they would have this part of the conversation again at least half a dozen more times before the party on Sunday.


End file.
